A Fortune magazine ranking predicts the Lehigh Valley will be among the top housing markets in the country next year.

Local home prices are expected to rise 6.9 percent in 2006, according to the survey, which says the Lehigh Valley will have the 11th hottest housing market for 2006.

If the survey is right, an almost 7 percent increase would come on top of a 10 percent uptick in home prices in 2004 and what's likely to be more than a 10 percent increase this year.

Year-to-date, the average price of an existing home in Lehigh and Northampton counties is $209,000, up 13 percent, according to the Lehigh Valley Association of Realtors.

The ranking, which appears in Fortune's Dec. 26 issue, lists the 100 largest U.S. metro areas by predicted increases in median home prices. According to Fortune, the Lehigh Valley will be the strongest market in Pennsylvania, ahead of Pittsburgh, which ranks No. 23, and Philadelphia, which ranks No. 40.

It's another sign that the housing market in the Lehigh Valley continues to be strong. This month, a federal report said home prices in the Allentown metropolitan statistical area rose 14.1 percent during the 12 months ended Sept. 30, outpacing state and national increases. The Lehigh Valley ranked No. 76 in annual price increases among the top 265 metropolitan statistical areas.

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